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Instead of focusing on all the negative things about the Catholic Church why don't you mention some of the good things it does? What about the millions of people who receive a good education in Catholic schools and Universities? Or the thousands of people that are helped by Catholic missions throughout the world whether they be homeless in London or impoverished people in the third world? For every abusive or 'bad' priest there are many more Mother Theresa's and St Francis of Assissi's.
I am sorry Jackie but your bad experience with a few bad priests or nuns isn't a good reason to abandon your faith. This article completely evades the central tenet upon which Catholic faith is based namely that our creator loves us and want's to have a relationship with us but because of our sin it was only possible to do so through the death of his only son Jesus. Without addressing that it would appear that far from 'giving up catholicism' you were never truly Catholic in the first place. Regardless of your wishes I will be praying for you because even if you do not believe in God he believes in you.

As for some of the comments posted on this page they are about as intelligent and tolerant as those made by the Iranian President and Islamic extremists.

- Lucas, London, UK, 15/09/2010 20:54
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There's no way of proving that no god exists.

All we can say is that, if there is a god, the evidence of the world before us shows that he/she/it cannot both be good and be omnipotent.

Looking at the floods, earthquakes, tsunamis and the rest - which affect other animals as well as us human beings - suggests a wicked god exulting in causing pain.

- E Thompson, London, England, 04/09/2010 15:00
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Big IF
Stands for Big Imaginary Fairy ....

Religion is backmail, often enfored in a terrifying fashion.
Keep up the good worK!

- G. Tingey, London, England, 04/09/2010 07:59
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I am with you Jackie Annesley 100%. I was 13 to 16 when I began to see through the whole Catholic sham.
Indoctrinated from age 4 into this horrendous religion, although I didnt have the vocabulary to describe it then , I felt nothing but lies, cheating, hypocrisy, and utter illogicality whenever I was at school (Catholic ) and at church.
When with the non Catholic side of my family, and in the wider world I came across 'normal' people who were just more tolerant, broader, loving and kind and understanding and logical. IT was a huge relief. I would NEVER inflict Catholicism on my kids.

- su, dumfries. Scotland, 03/09/2010 20:42
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"How we squirmed with embarrassment as our Protestant, Ulster-born cousin looked on"...the mask slips!

- Paul, Dublin, Ireland., 02/09/2010 03:12
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Devonshire Dave - the point of religion? Art, music, architecture, literature, philosophy. Schools, hospitals, missions, orphanages (not all run by perverts in fact just a tiny minority over the centuries). Self sacrifice to others, a point to life, comfort in sickeness and death. These are just a few of the "points" to religion which have inspired men and women for millenia.

- nanda, London UK, 01/09/2010 09:24
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THE ANSWER:


For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge

- Richard Merrell, Wentworth Falls, NSW Australia, 31/08/2010 21:11
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Here's an easy one: if there is only one God (capital 'G') why are there so many religions ? (BTW, when I use 'He' here, I am of course including 'She' or 'It')
What is it exactly that people worship ? Is it actually that they worship their religion, NOT their God? IOW they worship the 'mechanism' by which they believe their God makes His will known to them. Roman Catholics worship Catholicism, Jews worship the fact that they are Jews etc. Richard Merrell makes the point about all the paraphenalia which goes with religion; the solid gold candlesticks, luminous plastic madonnas, chocolate-box pictures of John F Kennedy, beheadings, crucifixions etc. My grandmother always held that if you want to speak to God then you can do so while washing your hair or sitting on the can. Anyway, if God is omnipotent and omniscient then He has already made His mind up about the human race; maybe He is waiting for us to repudiate the priests, vicars, imams etc and think for ourselves. As Diderot said "Man will only be free when the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"
I feel like reading Arthur C Clarke's "Childhood's End" again.
TT

- TinyTim, HellOnEarth, London, 31/08/2010 16:21
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Believing in God, and, Roman Catholicsm are two completely different things!

- Kevin Sullivan, Roehampton, London., 31/08/2010 13:41
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Here is one of the VAGARIES of Rome, a doctrine from Satan.

FIRSTLY let us look at the new Catechism of the (Roman) Catholic Church 1994; and what it admits about the doctrine of (holy trinity). At Page 66 para. 251 we read these infamous words, 'In order to articulate the dogma of the Trinity, the church has had to develope it's own terminology with the help of CERTAIN NOTIONS of PHILOSOPHICAL origin: 'substance,' 'person,' 'hypostases.'

What a confession of IDOLATRY, philosophy in the Church !

- Richard Merrell, Wentworth Falls, NSW Australia, 31/08/2010 04:14
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ROME has the blood of saints on her hands, and ALL her doctrines are from the devil. Satan has no greater ally than the Roman Catholic church.

- Richard Merrell, Wentworth Falls, NSW Australia, 31/08/2010 00:54
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Richard Merrell,only because you dont share my beliefs you said to me:'ALL that is necessary to say to you is this The Lord rebuke you,the Lord surely rebuke you' However Im not sure how you can speak on behalf of the Lord(?)but it does not matter.Jesus is in every one of us so peace be with you.Catholic priests never have taught us to hate people from other beliefs.

David Wavy & Lucy,God is not a myth and we have received the greatest of gifts: The Catholic Church and Sacraments.

Please look for Dr Castañon's videos in YOUTUBE. Type: 1/7 Faith & Science Conference - Ricardo Castanon Ph.D.

This scientist made many tests in different labs and will show you that Jesus is in the Eucharistic.

RICARDO CASTAÑON GÓMEZ:is a PhD who specializes in neuroscience.He studied clinical psychology in Germany and Italy.He s also specialiased in psychoterapy in London,pathology in Lyon-France, drug-addiction in Berkeley-California,Biochemistry in Wheil-Germany,applied psychology in Lovaina-Belgium.

He was an atheist but he converted to christianity and has spent many years travelling around the world investigating various supernatural claims.He s the author of 13 books,over 400 articles,and has given about 1000 talks at various institutions including Georgetown Univ.(Washington DC),Univ.of Austin,Polytechnic in Madrid,Univ.of Valladolid,St Joseph College in Sydney Australia,etc all over the world.

Hope you rediscover your faith.If you cant find the video please let me know.

- Cecilia, UK, 30/08/2010 10:43
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No I'm not kidding about my town's name!
This is addressed to Mike Davis:

A doctor or specialist can easily tell you how a hand works or you can google it. As far as priests and nuns giving up possessions....Only nuns take the vow of poverty not priests. Many priests I know drive a better car than I do. As usual a double standard between priests and nuns.

It really amazes me that in this day and age people think there is a God "up there" that is taking notes on all the billions of people in the world (or maybe he only bothers with the Catholics, because it is the ONE TRUE RELIGION). I believe there is no creator, however, I will acknowledge that there could something that created us, just not one that checks on us every minute of our lives. I was raised Catholic (12 years of school) and didn't buy into this stuff by high school.

- Lucy, Nazareth USA, 30/08/2010 10:25
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Dear Richard,
eh? Thanks for 'your' thoughts, but repeating irrelevant ancient mythology is no substitute for reasoned debate. It seems that you are saying I am a 'fool' for not believing in your God -thanks for that! Due to lack of space here I'll only take the part of this rambling quote that seems to have a little relevance to the article.
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness"
In other words-believe in God or go to hell-did I interpret that in the way you intended?I must say God/Allah etc doesn't sound like a great role model!-suicide bombers, hate spewing immans, plague summoning rabbis, rapist and terrorist priests seem positively benign in comparison.. Religion (Buddism may escape some of this critcism)is today causing suffering, division, war, famine, unwanted pregnancies, spiralling birth rates, tax avoidance, a massive waste of resources (cathedrals, mosques temples etc) that should be used to feed and house people. Nobody is born believing in religion they are indoctrinated from birth, it took me a number of years to escape this 'brainwashing'(I was agnostic for 20 years before fully 'converting'. I would love to hear what YOU constitute as proof/truth of the existence of your own deity (and please no quotes from the bible-think for yourself!!)In conclusion, we are taught to tolerate religion, what I would assert is that this is exactly what we should not be doing

- David Wavy, Torquay England, 30/08/2010 10:11
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- David Wavy, Torquay England, 29/08/2010 12:24 said 'In short there is probably no God,'

David may like to know that he himself is mentioned in scripture, to wit: 'The fool has said in his heart, there is no God' Psalm 14:1

God does prove himself, and does not need man to show he exists, for as Paul wrote; 'For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:' Romans 1:17-20

- Richard Merrell, Wentworth Falls, NSW Australia, 30/08/2010 01:05
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Like the author of this article, I was born and raised a Catholic, I have as a child also been part of a parish where the worst scandals took place have lost any 'faith' (read unwillingness to search out evidential based fact)and yet I am now in the service of the Catholic church, where I am paid to perpetuate these iron age myths.

I do my best to encourage independent and evidence based thinking in my work but cannot fully reconcile myself with my part in perpetuating these lies ( but have a mortgage to pay and a family to support). I know I'll go to hell for saying it (tongue firmly in cheek) but I just keep telling myself it's all just fairy stories- I am fully aware of this hypocritical stance

In short there is probably no God, (to prove a negative assertion is nearly? impossible) and all religious organisations should all be fully taxable and open to scrutiny. The catholic church has (correctly) taken a battering recently this needs to be done with all religions which exist to control people and promote power and influence to their leaders. In this day and age it is truly lamentable how many people are willing to let themselves be taken in by this religious rubbish at the cost of all of us (Middle East, Somalia, Nigeria, USA (40% plus think the world is less than 10,000 years old for goodness sake!)(here's looking at you Cecilia, Richard , Maggie, Mama Mae etc etc)

- David Wavy, Torquay England, 29/08/2010 12:24
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The Roman Catholic church is to be REJECTED for the heretics and apostates that they are, Rome is ICHABOD and has nothing to do with the church at Rome to which the Apostle Paul wrote an epsitle. The Pope is not a Christian, he is the successor to Caesar, as Pontifex Maximus, Supreme pontif of the ancient college of pontifs, now masquerading as the college of Cardinals.

There is NO salvation in the Roman Catholic church, for there is no salvation in Satan.....indeed in no doctrine of demons.

THE BELIEVER NEEDS NOT....CANDLES, ICONS, BEADS, MONKS, INCENSE, PRIESTS, STATUES, ROBES, MITRES, BELLS, MASS, POPES, NUNS, RELICS, SUN DISCS, RED LIGHTS, WAFERS, ROSARY, ALTARS, MARY, SACRED HEART, NOVENAS, PURGATORY, CONFESSIONS, HOLY WATER, CROSSES, INFANT BAPTISM, DECORATED TREES, CORPSES ON DISPLAY, HEATHEN LENT, CHRISTMAS OR EASTER, TRINITY, ETC. ETC.

- Richard Merrell, Wentworth Falls, NSW Australia, 29/08/2010 11:54
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Cecilia, UK, 29/08/2010 09:57 said..'Jesus chose and annointed disciples to continue His important mission on earth beofre leaving (of course He left the Holy Spirit and promised to he with them till the end of times).'<<<<< THAT is course is a lie from Satan.

THIS IS what the Lord Yeshua said prior to his ascension from the Mt of Olives....'And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.' Acts 1:4-9

After they had received the promise of the Father, preaching to the people, said 'Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.' see Acts 2.

- Richard Merrell, Wentworth Falls, NSW Australia, 29/08/2010 11:41
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- Cecilia, UK, 29/08/2010 09:57

ALL that is necessary to say to you is this; 'The Lord rebuke you, the Lord surely rebuke you'

- Richard Merrell, Wentworth Falls, NSW Australia, 29/08/2010 11:18
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Richard Merrell, Jesus Himself established the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Read John 20:22-23 "When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

God could have made everything on His own but He chose intermediaries, the mankind. It is the way He decided. He could have given the propecies Himself to all the people, yet he chose prophets, He could have sent Jesus as an adult yet He decided to ask Virgin Mary for this important mission isntead. In the same way, Jesus chose and annointed disciples to continue His important mission on earth beofre leaving (of course He left the Holy Spirit and promised to he with them till the end of times). He established the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist, etc.

The fact that we have one Mediator with God (Jesus) does not mean that God cannot choose intermediaries. There is a difference between mediator and intermediary.

God bless you.

- Cecilia, UK, 29/08/2010 09:57
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Very good article. We should appreciate the life we have here and now instead of wasting time on "the afterlife". I love this quote and it pretty much sums it up: "Morality is doing right no matter what you are told. Religion is doing what you are told no matter what is right" -HL Menken

- ToniDaTyga, Louisville, KY, 29/08/2010 00:25
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- Cecilia, UK, 28/08/2010 16:49 said to Richard, Rayleigh

'Without sincere sorrow and purpose of amendment, confession avails nothing, the pronouncement of absolution is of no effect, and the guilt of the sinner is greater than before.' <<<<<< THIS IS ONE OF THE VAGARIES OF ROME and NOT TRUE.

BECAUSE WE HAVE ONE MEDIATOR WITH GOD !!!

'For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all,' 1 Timothy 2:5,6. The believer is reconciled to God by his precious blood and not some Roman Catholic confessional.

And here is final proof; 'My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world.' 1 John 2:1,2

- Richard Merrell, Wentworth Falls, NSW Australia, 28/08/2010 23:38
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The article is a good one, and as others have said welcome to the real world, but what shocks me is how many comments are on here from people who still believe this nonsense. Spirit of Christ be with you indeed! If Jesus even existed (and it’s big if) then he was a Jewish apocalyptic preacher, 10 a dozen in the area at the time, the Christian faith that these people claim to follow was invented by sex obsessed Paul who never knew Jesus and has been embellished outrageously but first the catholic church with a succession of self-serving and self-aggrandising popes. Of course along the way it’s even been re-invented first by Mohammed then repeatedly down the ages, Calvin, Joseph Smith et al. Now it’s in total disarray from the preposterous claims of Mormanism, the world denying isolationism of the likes of the Amish, the money grabbing mass hysteria of Baptist churches to the partly tribal and ancestor worshiping black African variants. The current concentration on only about 10% of the bible by American Christians is a laugh, the concept of a Personal loving god is a modern day media invention. READ your bibles people… all of it! I’m afraid as hateful and despicable as he is Fred Phelps has that bible god down to a tee, he is vengeful and hateful.

- Apostate Tim, Manchester England, 28/08/2010 17:29
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Richard, I see that you dont know what the Sacrament of Reconciliation is about, it is not true that for the Catholic the mere "telling of one's sins" suffices to obtain their forgiveness. Without sincere sorrow and purpose of amendment, confession avails nothing, the pronouncement of absolution is of no effect, and the guilt of the sinner is greater than before.

On another note, please do not take as Gospel all stories you read on newspapers or here. Havent it crossed your mind that some people lie here and can invent stories against priests only for the sake of doing it.

God bless you.

- Cecilia, UK, 28/08/2010 16:49
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There has to be something wrong with a religion that
after commiting a terrible sin gets fully absolved in a confssional box

- Richard, Rayleigh, 28/08/2010 13:44
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I am a non practicising Catholic and view it in organisational terms. Like any organisation it has flawed "employees". In the case of the CC everything however is extreme and cover the spectrum from extremly good to extremely evil.

However, no organisation survives 2000 years and has billions of followers if its essence and its values are not whole. So when deciding to accept or reject the faith ask yourself do you believe in God. If yes, then the CC is as good as any organisation you will find on earth to permit you to express your faith.

The scary thing is that the evil that is in the CC is absolutely everywhere. The religious organisations were removed from society I am confident the net effect would be very negative for us all, believers or not.

- Joe, Hampshire, 28/08/2010 12:07
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I am not a catholic but recall an incident some 15 years ago when I arrived early for a dinner at the apartment of a friend who had a catholic preist staying with him. The priest was taken by surpise: he was in fact in bed with a prostitute When I later suggested to him that this did not excatly accord with the teachings of his church-he infomfed me that he knew another priest that he could confess to, as he was now contrite (preumably having released whatever tensions he had).

To this day it remains a profound mystery to me why anyone would take the word of a priest, imam or any other relgious leader with anything other than deep skepticism. Time and again (and with a few notable exceptions) they show themselves to have feet of clay.

- Alan J, London, 27/08/2010 16:33
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You say you started questioning your faith when your youngest son became ill and youo realised that faith and prayers were no protection from the reality of genetics. I understand totally and would feel like you - Lord, why have you abandoned me? And still for those who have experienced faith, like you and me, the best I can say is - may God bless and protect you.

- Maggie, London, 27/08/2010 15:34
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It's not that simple is it?

A superior being may well/probably does exist and science cannot explain everything and cannot create a being that reproduces itself. So Dave's views are with respect too simplistic.

Christ probably existed and whether he was holy or not his principles seem to be pretty good and there is nothing wrong in following them.

However I suspect that if Christ came back to earth today he would be absolutely ashamed of the Catholic church. There are just too many paedophiles and cruel nuns for the Catholic church to be respected any more especially with the reluctance to remedy these defects. But of course the Catholic church is man made and it is not the fault of any god that man has manipulated the ignorant for reasons which I do not fully understand but I think it is to do with power.

And why do Catholic priests have to be celebate? Well it's not a problem for many of them, especially the paedophiles. And where do paedophiles go, well they go to positions where they have power over children. And why does the Catholic church make such a fuss about confession, well its so that the priests know exactly what is going on and can continue to control people. Is it seriously healthy for a celebate middle aged man to take the confession of an adolescent girl... "and what did he do then child?"

No, criticism of the Catholic church is not criticism of God, it is criticism of men who manipulate others for their own pleasure.

- Stephen C, London, 27/08/2010 15:25
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Thank you Paul, for putting it so well. Ms Annesley is proselytizing as much as the 'woefully inadequate' priest she is publicly mocking, who will be named and shamed in his own parish as a result of this article. Earning money through journalism can be fairly ruthless, so I don't recognize Ms Annesley's right to teach lessons on morality.

- Pippa, London, 27/08/2010 13:50
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Someone please read this out to Melanie McDonagh, along with the related London Review of Books piece.

- sceptic, London, 27/08/2010 13:49
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Welcome to the real world.

- benny, Manchester, 27/08/2010 12:38
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Thus it is written in the scriptures 'Come out of her my people and touch not the unclean thing' The Roman Catholic church is no place for anyone who is a Christian. Her doctrines are false, her sins great unto heaven, an affront and offense to the Holy Spirit.

- Richard Merrell, Wentworth Falls, NSW Australia, 27/08/2010 05:55
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Congratulations for lack of a better word! I hope you now can find some real comfort knowing some of the truth that has been covered-up for the Catholic church knows how long. Tragically, its leaders have perpetrated overwhelming sorrow and grief to untold numers of innnocent people that words cannot describe.

I'm sorry that you too were deceived like so many of us who were betrayed and abused by trusted authority figures. I applaud your courage to come forward and share your experience helping others escape the trap of secrecy, shame and deceit intentionally designed for so many vulnerable people by church officials.

Thank you for speaking out! So many still cannot find the safety to do so. I hope you know that exposing such horrific lies and abuse will protect others and help those still suffering to come forward.

- Mary, USA, 27/08/2010 03:03
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Dave, the miracles of Christ are not explainable and there is supernatural power to govern them. If you're so smart, can you explain to me how your hand works? Or even where the materials for it came from?

The Catholic Faith, the one true church started by Jesus Christ, has never been about money. The good Priests and Sisters and Monks give up possessions and have very little more than their black habit they wear. Whatever science can explain is simply further testament to that fact that there is a God who designed it that way. It boggles the mind that people could believe that something can come from chance but yet humans have been unable to make a single bug or cell on purpose.

- Mike Davis, USA, 26/08/2010 23:31
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"While those who give scandal are guilty of the spiritual equivalent of murder,those who allow scandals to destroy their faith are guilty of spiritual suicide."

Please read Father Roger J. Landry article:
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0526.html

Summary:

Before he chose his first disciples,Jesus went up the mountain all night to pray.Yet,one of them was a traitor.One,who had had his feet washed by the Lord,etc betrayed Him.Jesus didnt choose Judas to betray him.But Judas was always free,& he used his freedom to allow Satan to enter into him,& by his betrayal,ended up getting Jesus crucified.SOMETIMES GOD'S CHOSEN ONES BETRAY HIM.That's a fact that we have to confront.If the scandal caused by Judas was all the members of the early Church focused on,the Church would have been finished before it even started to grow.Instead,the Church recognised that you dont judge something by those who dont live it, but by those who do.
We're confronted by the same reality now.We can focus on those who betrayed the Lord or on those who have remained faithful offering their lives to serve Christ.The media almost never focuses on the good "11",the ones whom Jesus has chosen who lives life of holiness.It's a tough time to be a priest & Catholic today.But it is a great time as well.IT TAKES A REAL MAN/WOMAN TO STAND UP NOW & recognise that when swimming against the flood of criticism you're safest when stay attached to the Rock on whom Christ built his "CHURCH".

- Cecilia, Basildon, UK, 26/08/2010 23:07
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How very sad Dave, Devon. Of course you will see it is all nonsense because it suits you. Thank you Paul I agree with most of your comments and accept all of your comments. George, you like David are blind to a lot of the good things the Church provides. All professions be they Legal, Education, Medical have their share of Scum of the earth members. The RC Church has survived into the 21st Century and it will continue to do so. There is a certain attitude about being anti the Church today which is not new but it is dangerous because it is permissible to voice the feelings of hatred and antagonism. You are free to think your way but please do not feel free to try and belittle how others feel. As a true Christian it is natural to go through questionable times and many people feel unsure about many things but when the chips are down, when troubles abound then our Faith helps us to shoulder our burdens and we feel strengthened by our Faith and Trust in God. You can sneer David and consider yourself the clever one, believe all your scientific findings etc, That is your prerogative. Others have theirs.

- Mama Mae, Paphos Cyprus, 26/08/2010 18:26
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You should maybe distinguish between catholicism and the catholic church. Catholicism may have its many flaws, but it's been tarnished moreso by the institution who assumes ownership of catholicism, that rotten to the core institution they call the catholic church, the child molesting paedophile ring that protects the worst scum on this earth in the name of spreading the word of god. And you know what, we as catholics are complicit in their atrocities, as we still support them. They've just shifted their paedophile ring to south america/asia/africa, the same atrocities that were visited on us in the 50/60/70s are no being visited on defenceless south american/asian/african kids while their parents worship at the alter.

- George, London, 26/08/2010 15:56
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Well...........

Being a Catholic or for that matter a good Christian is not easy. However to suggest that you were pushed into a non belief situation by the acts of individuals which anyway is totally against Catholic or Christian tenets, takes some believing.

Religion is a matter for the individual and I most certainly respect people for they're beliefs whether for or against, or agnostic like me. I don't however have respect for people like you who pontificate about background and piety and then try to elucidate - like you, that the Catholic church (and not you) has lost the plot and the World must be informed of your decision - for a suitable fee of course.

- Paul Davis, London. UK, 26/08/2010 15:37
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Religion? What's the point? The nonsense contained in all the religious books that have ever been published is almost breathtaking in its naivety and fairy tale imagery. It is a charade. The miracles of Christ are explainable and there is no supernatural power to govern them. It beggars belief that in the twentyfirst century people invest so much time and trouble in this mystical mumbo jumbo. There is no reason for making religion and religious belief an untouchable credo. It should be laughed at and sneered at until all men on earth do dwell wake up and realise that it is all a Grimms' fairy tale designed to keep the poor under the thumb of the rich establishment. Science explains everything.

- Dave, Devon, 26/08/2010 15:11
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